The Dating Experience
by DolbyDigital
Summary: Things always have to start somewhere. This began with a change – not particularly life altering, or even noticeable to most – but to her it was everything. It just took him a while to catch up.


**A/N: **Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition with the prompts 'Fever' by Peggy Lee and 'Beginning'.

* * *

'Never know how much I love you

Never know how much I care'

* * *

"Evans! Evans! Hey, wait up!"

"What‽" She snapped.

"If you could just go on one date with him, I'm sure you'd see-"

"Hi, Black! I'm doing great! Thanks for asking!" She interrupted with sarcastic cheer.

"Err... yeah, that's good. So James was thinking-"

"I honestly don't care what that pillock was thinking. That arrogant twat needs to stop thinking that it's his right to date me. That he can win me over by acting like an arse..."

He started backing away slowly, surprised that the outburst. He never knew Evans had it in her.

Later, when he'd finally escaped the redhead's wrath, he went in search for James to give him a slightly altered re-cap of events.

_"You're wearing her down, mate."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yeah, she'll come around soon."_

* * *

Gryffindor versus Slytherin. The most anticipated match of the year. And Sirius had over slept. James would kill him if he missed it.

He raced around the corner, crashing into someone who was making the same turn in the opposite direction, albeit at a far more sedate pace.

"Hey! Watch where-"

He was already apologising profusely and bending to pick up the spilled contents of her bag.

Her irritation quickly turns to confusion at his genuine remorse.

"Oh, Evans! It's you. Err... You should really watch where you're going," he shoves the armful of her belongings he's carrying into her lax hands, and the only reason they don't fall to the floor a second time is because he holds on for perhaps a second too long. He coughs to cover the slight awkwardness he's feeling, searching for something to say.

"Why aren't you at the match?" He's grateful that she changes the subject for him, but it still takes him a moment to formulate his response.

"Oh, um... I'm heading there now." He brings his hand up to scratch the back of his neck, looking down as he does so. He sees a large textbook next to the wall across the corridor, and – knowing that it must be Lily's – goes over to pick it up. He only realises that she's speaking when he returns.

"-ether?"

"Sorry, what?"

"I'm doing, too. Did you want to go together?"

He instantly agrees. James had been begging her to go to a match for ages.

It's only later that he begins to wonder why she had been walking in the opposite direction when he ran into her.

* * *

It's just him and Remus at breakfast – James has Quidditch practice and Peter went with him to cheer him on – but they're both too busy shovelling food into their mouths to be having a more interesting conversation than "could you pass the bacon".

There's a loud thump next to him as someone rather unceremoniously drops a large textbook onto the table, and before he really knows what's happening Lily is sitting next to him talking a hundred words a minute.

He makes no attempt to follow the conversation and when she's done he just stares at her blankly, struggling to swallow his mouthful of scrambled egg.

"Wha-?" he manages to get out without spraying her too badly with his partially chewed food. He feels the look of disgust she sends his way is completely undeserved.

"I need your help with my History of Magic paper."

"If it's homework, Remus is right-"

"I'm eating," comes from his right, muffled around a mouthful of food.

"Look, Evans, I'm really more suited for help with a reason as to why you _didn't_ write your essay."

"Sirius-"

"Why do you even need help, anyway? You're like the smartest person I know by a long shot." He pretends he doesn't notice Remus' glare.

"Look, it's just... It's about ancient Pureblood families and I figured since you're... y'know... um... you'd probably know something about it... I mean, you're always complaining about your family's traditions. Some of their history must have sunk in."

"So you only want my help because you think I might have accidentally learnt something about my family?"

"...yes..." He gets the feeling this isn't going quite the way she had hoped. "Just read through what I've done and tell me if it's right. Then you can finish your bacon."

With a sigh he takes the proffered roll of parchment, not really sure how he'd be able to help – he didn't even know there _was_ homework.

He honestly doesn't understand most of what he's reading, but he does recognise a few names and places. The most help he manages to provide is the correction of a few dates and spellings.

She shoves the roll of parchment carelessly into her bag and walks away looking somewhat disappointed. The entire experience leaves him very confused.

* * *

Potions has never been his favourite class. He's not particularly good at it. And that becomes very apparent when the potion which is supposed to be clear turns a violent shade of pink and starts bubbling over.

Slughorn doesn't even comment, just empties his cauldron and expects him to start over.

"Do you need some help?" Evans asks from the table next to his. She doesn't wait for a response before shoving him out of the way and starting the potion herself. "You'd just mess up again," she justifies once she takes note of the look he's aiming in her direction.

Regardless, it's a lot more fun than he was expecting – especially considering that after doing most of the prep for him, she actually made him do the work himself – but he manages to successfully brew the potion and that's a lot more than he can say of previous classes. It turns out paying attention and actually doing the work helps. Who knew?

He's oblivious to the looks he's getting from James.

* * *

He's walking on his own down the road to Hogsmeade – he'd promised to meet up with his friends near Zonkos as he'd had to return a library book; Lily was a bad influence – but instead he'd run into Lily outside The Three Broomsticks.

"Sirius!" she called out in greeting, "wait with me? Marlene isn't here yet and I don't want to stand here on my own."

"Um... Sure." He shoved his hands in his pockets, regretting his decision to forgo gloves. "Maybe we could wait inside though?"

"Yeah, that'd be great!" He wasn't sure why she hadn't gone in sooner, the snow already lay pretty heavily on the ground, but he decided not to ask.

He ordered them both a warm Butterbeer while she found a table and they settled in to wait.

Neither noticed how quickly the time was going as they talked, their now-cold drinks mostly forgotten in front of them.

The yell of "Sirius!" startles them both.

"Potter," Lily greets.

"James! Hi. Sorry, I guess I lost-"

"What do you think you're doing?" The obvious anger in James' voice is unexpected.

"We... we were just... um... waiting for Marlene?" It comes out more of a question than an answer, and he looks to Lily as if for confirmation.

"Really? 'Cause we just saw her leaving Honeydukes." Peter quickly nods his agreement.

"Well, I-"

"Are you two on a _date?"_ He's clearly furious, and Sirius can honestly say that he has absolutely no idea why.

"No, we were just-"

"Stop lying!"

"But-"

"...shouldn't she be able to date who she wants?" Remus quietly intervenes, looking like he'd much rather be anywhere but here.

"That's not the issue here!" James sputters.

"Well then what is?" Sirius has just about reached the end of his patience.

"I thought you weren't on a date!"

"Potter, that is enough!" Lily finally interjects.

"I'll talk to you later," he glares at Sirius before storming out of the Pub, Peter close on his heels.

"Maybe you should have spoken to him before going on a date with her," Remus tells him before he, too, follows their friends out of the building, ignoring Sirius' whisper of "it's not a date."

"Maybe we should head out, too," Lily says after a few minutes of silence, vaguely awkward on her part but Sirius is still too shocked to notice.

"Is that what this was?" he asks instead of replying.

"What?"

"A date?"

She leans across the table and kisses the corner of his mouth.

"What do you think?"

She walks out before he has a chance to reply, leaving her mostly untouched Butterbeer on the table.

* * *

'What a lovely way to burn'

\- Peggy Lee, 'Fever'


End file.
